Disclosed herein are methods of making a heat sink assembly and articles made therefrom.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are currently used as replacements for incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent lamps. LEDs are semiconductor devices that emit incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction of their PN junctions, and are thus referred to as solid-state lighting devices. In an LED light device, the core is a LED chip mounted on a substrate. A transparent top covering the LED chip serves as a lens for modifying the direction of the emitted light.
The high power LED light devices produce considerable amount of heat, which may cause performance degradation or even damage if the heat is not efficiently removed from the LED chips. Thus, in such LED light devices, thermal management is of great importance as a high temperature of the LED can adversely impact the efficiency, as well as the longevity of the device, if sufficient heat is not dissipated away from the chip.
Metals have traditionally been used for heat sink applications in LED housings, due to their effective thermal conductivity and thus ability to dissipate heat away from the LED chip. However, given the need for electrical isolation, design flexibility, part integration, and lighter weight devices, alternatives to metals are continually being sought.